In short: Fun race, challenging but good atmosphereIn full: Really enjoyed this as this is my local half marathon and had been meaning to enter for years. The route is quite hilly - very few flat stretches except through the residential areas but attractive. It crosses the M25 but this was quite fun as a lot of the cars beeped at us for support! The marshals were supportive and lots of families were out in their front lawns to cheer us on. The water was provided in cups, which might be annoying for some, but I prefer that since I carry my own drink anyway and just want a few sips of water along the way. Nice medal and you get a t-shirt and lolly too. There's a good runner's village with a number of stalls and marquees. The only problems were the tiny number of lavatories and parking. I live in St Albans and thought I was being "clever" by finding alternative areas to park, but these were full too. It took a long time to get out of the city centre (would have been faster for me to walk home!!). Quite a few warnings of doom for about people wearing headphones!! Overall I enjoyed the race and will be back next year - just won't be driving to the event. Date of review: July 21, 2012

In short: Really nice course, decent medal and a lolly on a hot day. Sadly let down a bit by the terrible parking arrangements. I'd definitely do it again if the parking was improved!Date of review: July 1, 2012

In short: Hilly, challenging but fun. Lots of support along country lanes.In full: Feels much longer than a half due to the hills. Not many flat or easy stretches here. No traffic and plenty of support along the way make up for that. Ice lolly at the end takes away the pains. Date of review: June 24, 2012

In short: Well organised, undulating race in a nice locationIn full: On the whole I thought this was an excellent race.Course was constantly up and down, but the hills were never horrendous, and only one was vaguely long.

Good things:Lots and lots of marshals, pretty course, plenty of supporters, nice runners village, plenty of water stations, ice lolly at the end.

Bad things:Massive queue for toilets (although there was another set of toilets which was announced over the tannoy at one point and had a one minute queue...), parking wasn't well signposted and I think may have run out before the eventDate of review: June 12, 2012

In short: 4th time running so the organizers must be doing some thing rightIn full: it was my 4th time running the event, organization was good, agree with some comments about toilets not enough, on the course plenty of water stops but wish they could get a suppler using bottle instead of the plastic cups if only on a couple of stops, that is my only moan, glad to see that they widened the start which made it easier in stead of fighting our way through a small gap and the ban on mp3 plays was a good idea. at the finish there was plenty of fluid lucozade, water and the all important ice lolly, tee shirt (which fits) and the medal (wish they could change the design as it has been the same for 4 years) roll on next year

In short: Great race in a great locationIn full: This continues to be one of the best road half marathons I run. The course is a great undulating rural road course - it really is challenging with a couple of big long climbs but also a great downhill 1m at the end before a flat 0.5m. There are always loads of refreshment vans. The ice lolly is a must and I always look forward to it. They're quite generous at St Albans with a t-shirt, medal, lolly and bottle of lucazade sport! The guys on the PA always do a good job on the lead-up to the races and the kids event is great too. This year, there were a lot more runners and there was neither satisfactory parking or toilet facilities - needs to be looked at. My only other moan this morning would be that I and 20+ other runners seem to have been 'on course' when looking at the result but don't have a time or official place - I promise I didn't take any short cuts!Date of review: June 11, 2012